I can’t believe we’re already halfway through November—it’s been such a busy month so far. The weather has mostly been cold, though we’ve had a few days that almost reached 60°F. You can really feel that winter is just around the corner, so we’re trying to soak up every bit of sun and these rare, mildly warm temperatures.
This week, Tuesday was holiday. We usually travel over the long weekend, but since everyone had to work or go to school on Monday, we stayed home this year. We took advantage of the extra time to do a much-needed deep clean of the house and tackle some overdue organization. It felt so good to get everything done—it’s made our evenings since much more relaxed.
But since it was a day off, I couldn’t let my family off the hook and still made them do a family activity! This time, we planned a trip to the Ritter Sport factory in Waldenbuch, which has been on my list to visit since we moved here. While Lindt is the fancier and more well-known German chocolate, Ritter Sport can be compared to Hershey’s in the United States—the everyday chocolate. It’s manufactured just 15 minutes from our house in Waldenbuch, a town we visit quite often. We’ve passed the factory hundreds of times, and many people we know have done the chocolate-making workshop. Finally, it was our turn.
I knew that many Americans visited the factory, but I didn’t realize just how popular it was overall. I had to schedule the booking over two months in advance to get this time slot, and we were still among the last to book. It’s clearly a favorite destination for Germans as well, and we were surprised to even find a huge bus parking lot in addition to the regular parking area when we arrived.
The chocolate workshop itself lasted only an hour. Each of us got to pick three ingredients to mix into a bowl. We kind of misunderstood the instructions and thought these three ingredients were just for snacking, but they actually became the ingredients for our individual chocolates. This worked fine for Brooklyn, who picked strawberries and almonds—flavors that naturally go together—but it was a little strange for Ryan, who had chosen Haribo gummy bears and Pop Rocks. I wasn’t much better off, picking M&Ms and marshmallows.
We mixed our chocolate with our chosen ingredients and poured it into molds, which were then placed in the freezer to firm up. While waiting, we watched a presentation on the company and the chocolate-making process. Ritter Sport was founded by Clara Ritter in North Stuttgart in the early 1900s, before moving to Waldenbuch in the 1930s. One fun fact we loved: the company’s famous square “practical” shape actually comes from a 1930s advertising campaign, which claimed the squares were more “sporty” because you could easily fit them into your pocket. It was fun imagining chocolate as a little piece of sporty practicality while we waited for ours to set!
We also learned how their cacao beans are grown, harvested, and transformed into chocolate. Ritter Sport owns a cacao farm in Nicaragua and is known for its sustainable and worker-friendly practices. Their motto, “Das Richtige tun”—or “Do the right thing”—immediately made me think of my mom, whose favorite phrase that is. The cacao powder is harvested in Nicaragua and then shipped to Waldenbuch, where the chocolate is made and then exported to over 100 countries. Before moving to Germany, we had never really heard of Ritter Sport, but since we arrived, it seems like we see it everywhere.
After the presentation, we packaged up our chocolate squares into personalized boxes and then did some shopping in the Ritter Sport outlet. Afterwards, we had dinner at Lucky’s, one of our favorite tapas restaurants in Waldenbuch.
On Thursday, Ryan had his Court of Honor for Boy Scouts, where he was awarded several merit badges he had earned over the summer. We couldn’t be prouder of all the hard work he put in to earn them! It’s no small feat—these merit badges require a lot of effort and dedication. Even though we still have a long way to go, it was wonderful to see him recognized for his accomplishments and to celebrate this milestone.
On Friday, we had planned to go bowling as a family at the base’s bowling alley. Somehow, in almost five years of living here, we’ve never gone together. But it turned out to be “Friendsgiving” for the senior class, so Brooklyn had to skip. We told Ryan he could bring a friend, and he showed up with five. Matt and I managed to squeeze in one game — which we played terribly — but we spent most of the evening making sure Ryan’s crew stayed fed while they bowled. It was still a lot of fun, and we’ll take whatever time we can get with our kids, even if the night didn’t go quite how I imagined it.
On Saturday, we attended a wine tasting event at Gentile Gusto, a huge Italian supermarket just five minutes from our house. We had eaten at their restaurant once but had never explored the actual market — and somehow, we’d never even heard of their massive annual wine tasting event, despite it being so close to home. Luckily, our neighbors invited us to join them and a huge group of other parents from school.
The event was set up in a huge tent outside the market, and for 15 euros, you could sample around 50 wines from Italian vendors who travel to the supermarket to showcase their selections. Food was served, and there was a DJ and a photo booth station to add to the lively atmosphere. We arrived at 1 PM and stayed until around 7 PM. I’m not sure exactly how many wines we tried, but I’m pretty sure it was a lot! We ended the evening at a neighbor’s house with pizzas from the market and games.
Saturday was surprisingly warm. We had dressed in our usual sweaters and coats, but temperatures ended up in the 60s! Sunday, on the other hand, was a completely different story—temperatures quickly dropped below freezing, and we suddenly had to pull out our huge winter parkas.
We spent most of the day indoors but then joined some friends at the Sindelfingen Winter Hut, which just opened this week for for Sunday dinner. This year, the hut seems to have been decorated even more for Christmas, if that is even possible. We had a delicious dinner and finished the night we the first gluwein of the season, out on the Marktplatz. The perfect end to an awesome week!
Gilcrests Abroad 